Abrasive blasting apparatus



May 27, 1969 R. w. MOQRE l 3,445,966

ABRASIVE BLASTING APPARATUS Filed June 30. 1966 nuy United States Patent 3,445,966 ABRASIVE BLASTING APPARATUS Ralph W. Moore, Hagerstown, Md., assignor to The Pangborn Corporation, Hagerstown, Md., a corporation of Delaware Filed `lune 30, 1966, Ser. No. 561,987 Int. Cl. B24c 3/00, 3/02 U.S. Cl. 51-9 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a blasting apparatus which is particularly adapted for cleaning the interior of workpieces or for reaching other relatively inaccessible places. More particularly this invention relates to such a blast cleaning apparatus wherein abrasive particles are projected in a 360 blast pattern.

There is a great need for a blasting apparatus of the above type for cleaning the interior of tubular or other members and for cleaning relatively inaccessible portions. Various attempts have been made with varying degrees of .success to provide an apparatus of this type wherein the blast stream is projected in a full 360 pattern. One such attempt for example is described in Lehman Patent 2,507,166. In the arrangement of this patent, however, since six feed tubes are being used, it is impractical to move the device any extensive vertical distance. Additionally in the patented device the blast wheel is disposed between the motor and the abrasive feed supply. Accordingly it is necessary to provide some means for having the motor connections by-pass the blast stream. Otherwise utilization of a full 360 blast stream would be undesirable, since it would also blast against the motor connections.

Another attempt at providing such an apparatus is described in Foster Patent 3,052,066. The device of this patent, however, is designed .solely for cleaning tube interiors. In this respect the abrasive particles are supplied in an unconned manner in the tubular workpieces with the workpiece tube being 'necessary to act as a part 0f the feed hopper. Additionally various means are provided which require the cooperation of the workpiece for their effectiveness, such means include for example guide rollers and seals. In other words the patented device is completely dependent on the tubular shape of the workpiece being cleaned.

An object of this invention is to provide an abrasive blasting apparatus which is not dependent on the shape of the workpiece being cleaned.

A further object is to provide .such an apparatus which can effectively utilize a 360 blast pattern without danger to the motor connections.

A still further object is to provide such an apparatus which can be easily moved from one location to another for reaching relatively inaccessible places.

In accordance with this invention, an abrasive blasting wheel is connected to a rotatable tubular member. The abrasive particles are fed to the blast wheel in a confined manner and the blast wheel is rotated along with the tube so as to project the particles in a 360 blast stream. The power means or motor for rotating the 'blast 3,445,90 Patented May 27, 1969 lCC Wheel is advantageously disposed on the same side of the blast wheel as the abrasive feed supply. Accordingly the power means and its connections are unaffected by the utilization of a full 360 blast stream. The feed connection for the blast wheel may advantageously be of a swivel type to permit multi-planar movement of the blast wheel and thus facilitate disposing the blast wheel in relatively inaccessible locations.

Novel features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the reading from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts and in which:

FIGURE l is a side View of one embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the blast wheel shown in FIG. l; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of the swivel connection shown in FIG. l.

As shown in FIGURE l, the work cleaning apparatus 10 includes a nonrotating support tube 12 which is attached to platform 14. Platform 14 in turn may be secured to any conventional means such as boom so that it can be raised and lowered, moved back and forth, and moved sideways. Mounted on platform 14 by a suitable connection (not shown) is motor i6 which incorporates for example a belt drive 'I8 for rotating hollow feed shaft 20.

The abrasive particles are fed from storage hopper 22 into feed tube 20 through swivel connection 24 which will later be described in detail. Feed tube 20 is rotated by motor 16 and rides against bearings 26, 28 at the upper and lower ends respectively of the feed tube.

As shown in FIGURE 2, abrasive throwing wheel 30 is mounted at the lower end of feed tube 20. The throwing wheel 30 includes a plurality of vanes 32 which are secured between upper runnerhead 34 and lower runnerhead 36. Vanes 32 are spaced from each other in the central portion of wheel 30. The central portion in turn communicates with the interior of tube 20 so that the abrasive particles may be supplied from hopper 22 to wheel 30 through feed tube 20 and swivel connection 24. The central portion of lower runnerhead 36 carries an abrasive distributing cone 38. Since the runnerhead 30 does not include any impeller structure, the abrasive particles are centrifugally thrown in a full 360 pattern for effectively cleaning the interior of variously shaped objects. These objects may be tubular such as pipes or irregular shapes such as the interior of railroad cars or hoppers.

To maximize the versatility of device 10 a swivel connection 24 is provided. This connection is best shown in FIGURE 3. As indicated therein, the lower end of feed hopper 22 fits in telescopic tube 40. Tube 40 has a slot 42 through which arm 44 projects. Arm 44 is secured to tube 22 to assure a connection between tubes 22 and 40 while permitting relative rotation of the tubes. Tube 40 is telescopically arranged inside connecting tube 46 which in turn fits into lower tube 48. Tube 46 also carries an arm 50 which projects through slot 52 of tube 48 to secure tubes 46 and 48 together while permitting relative rotation between the tubes. Tube 48 in turn is connected to feed tube 20.

By means of the swivel connection 24 shown in FIG- URE 3, it is possible to raise and lower the device since tube 40 telescopically fits within tube 46. Additionally rotational movement can be attained by the slotted connections between the tubes, thus swivel connection 24 provides a multi-planar connection for the feed hopper 22 to the feed tube 20. This connection in addition to the length of feed tube 20 which may for example be 25 feet long makes it possible for device 10 to reach otherwise inaccessible places. Additionally by providing a special feed tube, the abrasive is supplied in a conned manner so that the device is not dependent for its peration, upon the shape of the article being cleaned. Ad ditionally by locating the drive means or motor 16 above the blast wheel 30, in other words on the same side of the blast wheel 30 as the abrasive supply, the danger of the blast stream striking and damaging any motor connections is eliminated.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specically described.

What is claimed is:

1. An abrasive blasting apparatus comprising an abrasive blast wheel having a plurality of radial vanes for projecting abrasive particles in a 360 pattern, conlined abrasive feed means communicating with said wheel for supplying abrasive particles thereto, rotation means connected to said wheel for causing the particles to be centrifugally projected from said vanes substantially normal to the axis of rotation of said blast wheel, drive means for said rotation means, said conned feed means and said drive means being disposed on the same side of said blast wheel, movement means being connected to said blast wheel for vertically and laterally moving said wheel, multi-planar connecting means being provided between at least a portion of said feed means and said wheel for permitting said wheel to be moved, and said connecting means including slotted coupling means and telescopic tube means.

2. An abrasive blasting apparatus comprising an abrasive blast wheel having a plurality of radial vanes for projecting abrasive particles in a 360 pattern, confined abrasive feed means communicating with said wheel for supplying abrasive particles thereto, rotation means connected to said wheel for causing the particles to be centrifugally projected from said varies substantially normal to the axis of rotation of said blast wheel, drive means for said rotation means, said conned feed means and said drive means being disposed on the same side of said blast wheel, said rotation means including a hollow tube connected to said blast wheel, said confined feed means including the hollow interior of said tube, a supply hopper, hollow swivel means connecting said hopper to said tube, and a distributing cone being in said wheel facing said tube.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said drive means includes a motor operably connected to said tube, a stationary support tube being mounted around said yhollow rotatable tube, and said swivel means including a pair of oiset telescopic tubes being connected to said hopper and to said rotatable tube by slotted coupling means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 217,709 7/1879 Sawyer 51--9 469,642 2/1892 Nehr 51--9 1,971,535 8/1934 Perkins 51-9 X 2,188,716 1/ 1940 Jacobovics 51-9 2,263,321 ll/ 1941 Unger 51-9 2,765,588 10/ 1956 Puhr-Westerheide 51-9 LESTER M. SWINGLE, Primary Examiner. 

